Ash receptacle



A. M. MARON ASH RECEPTACLE Sept. 4, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 24, 1960 V ATTORNEYS P 4, 1962 A. M. MARON 3,052,346

ASH RECEPTACLE Filed Oct. 24, 1960 g s s 2 v nnnulun""11",,nnnullul'nllluI Ari/"(r N. "ARON BYW United htates Patent 3,052,346 ASH RECEPTACLE Arthur Mortimer Maren, 200 Kensington Ave., Westmount, Quebec, Canada Filed Oct. 24, 196i), Ser. No. 64,532 1 Claim. (Cl. 206--38) This application pertains to an article of manufacture adapted to hold a cigarette or cigar package or be an integral part thereof and also be used as an ash receptacle.

Smoking has become a very common habit, amongst women as Well as men; a habit which is practiced almost anywhere. However, in certain places, ashtrays are not available and the smoker will often resort to unsanitary, and often dangerous ways to get rid of his buts or ashes. The latter will most often find their way on the floor, or what is worse, on a rug or a piece of furniture often resulting in unrepairable dam-age thereto.

While walking in forests and woods, absent-minded or just plain careless smokers will discard their butts and ashes without positively ensuring that the fire is out. In dry seasons this may prove extremely dangerous and may result in costly forest fires. A quick glance at the newspapers during that particular period of the year will be sufficient to prove that cigarette and cigar smokers are often presumed to be the cause of forest fires.

The invention proposes a convenient article which will help in overcoming the foregoing dangers and damages by providing a container which can serve to hold a cigarette or cigar package or even integral part thereof and which usefully provides a special receptacle for receiving butts and ashes without any danger to set fire to surrounding articles or to the users clothes.

It is also an object of the invention to provide such an article, made of fire-proof material, which will readily discard the butts and ashes into a closed receptacle by rotation, with one hand only, of an element adapted to receive the cigarette or cigar remnants and discharge them into the otherwise closed receptacle.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a cigarette package holder and ash receptacle of the aforesaid type which possesses a locking system preventing the rotation of the receiving element out of its ash-receiving positions, thus precluding any unwanted removal of the cigarette and cigar remnants therefrom; this being particularly advantageous when the article is carried into the users pockets.

Yet, the invention contemplates the provision of a removable cover which can also be locked into position but which can easily be taken away when it is desired to empty the ash receptacle.

It will then be seen that the invention promotes cleanliness, safety and convenience.

These various objects and advantages are possible with the article of the invention which consists in a container having an upper compartment with one open end for the reception of a cigarette package and a lower receptacle, also having an open end, opposite the first said end, but normally closed by means of a removable cover. Through the upper portion of the ash receptacle, a trough-shaped rotating receiving element is provided, the preferred form being Y-shaped in cross-section thus presenting three V-shaped troughs extending radially about a common apex. Each trough may successively lock into position with the open mouth thereof registering with a corre sponding opening in a wall of the ash receptacle. Therefore, ashes or butts may be received in the V-shaped trough and discharged into the receptacle by simple rotation of the Y-shaped receiving element, while presenting a second V-shaped trough to the opening.

A better understanding of the invention will be had ice by the following description, having reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective elevation of the article of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a View similar to that of FIG. 1 but partly broken away to show the interior structure;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective elevation view of the receiving element;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional View along line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are three longitudinal cross-sectional views of the article with the rotating element in three different positions;

FIG. 9 and 10 are partial views showing the locking mechanism of the rotating receiving elements.

As shown best in FIGS. 1 and 2, the device is a quadrilateral object having an upper cigarette package holder 1 and a lower ash receptacle 3. The cigarette package holder 1 is open at the top and of shallow depth with such dimensions that will tightly hold a cigarette package. The ash receptacle 1 is also open at the end 4 of the device opposite the end which constitutes the top of the cigarette package holder. The latter end, however, is kept closed by a generally flat cover 5.

In order to tightly fit and be held in position in opening 4 as well as to be easily removed therefrom, an arrangement such as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 may be provided for cover 5, wherein the inward face 5 is formed with a peripheral flange '7 normal thereto and standing short of the peripheral edge 9. The top surface of this flange 7 has a forwardly inclined slant l1 backed by a groove 18 immediately adjacent thereto. Slant 11 and groove 13 define, along their meeting edge, a peripheral sharp crest 15 which, of course, extends peripherally around cover 5.

In cooperation with the structure just described is a peripheral locking shoulder 17 extending around the inner surface of the ash receptacle 3 and standing short of opening 4. As will readily be understood, the peripheral opening 17 is of a lesser extent than the periphery of crest 15 so that as cover 5 is pressed against opening 4, shoulder 17 rides on inclined slant 11 forcing crest 15 inwardly until it reaches the inward surface of shoulder 17 where it snaps back into normal position; shoulder 17 sitting into groove 13 and edge 9 against opening 4. This is possible because peripheral flange 7 actually acts as an overhanging beam and has a certain resiliency.

It should be realized that only a small overlapping is needed between crest 15 and shoulder 17 as the cover is subjected to very little efforts. For this reason, if the article is made of slightly resilient material like plastic, flange 7 may be replaced by a plain wall having the peripheral configuration just described and better seen in FIG. 5.

For ease in removing cover 5, it is advantageous that edge 9 of cover 5 extends slightly over the outward surface of ash receptacle 3.

The receiving element or ash receiver :19 itself is shown alone in FIG. 4. It consists of two fiat disks 21, each provided with an axial stub shaft 23 projecting from one face only of the disks. The other surface of each disk is joined to a trough-shaped receiving member, preferably Y-shaped in cross-section; being formed of three V-shaped troughs 25 and 25" having a common apex 26 and extending around a circumference as best seen in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8.

It is seen that troughs 25' and 25" are of unequal depths, troughs 25' being relatively and equally shallow while trough 25 is deeper. It follows that the common apex of all the troughs is off-centered with respect to the shaft 23. Only trough 2-5" is of sufiicient dimensional depth to carry a butt longitudinally deposited within it, Whereas the troughs 25 can only be used to deposit ashes. although of unequal depths, the opening or mouths of the troughs are necessarily all equal so as to register perfectly with the ash aperture 35. It can readily be appreciated that if all the troughs were equal in dimensions and capable of receiving extinguished butts, the resultant structure would have prohibitive dimensions, i.e. the thickness of the whole ash receptacle would necesarily be appreciably larger than that of the package of cigarettes to which it is to be adapted.

Ash receiver 19 is mounted on a supporting structure best depicted in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5. Shafts 23 first extend through supporting brackets 27 depending from the top wall 29 of ash receptacle 3 and then through shaft holes 31 on the side wall 33 of the article (FIG. 1). Once in position, receiver 19 faces a rectangular ash aperture 35. Aperture 35 is also defined by side walls 37 depending from top wall 29 and preferably stands near the dividing wall 39.

Stub shafts 23 are held on brackets 27 by means of bearings 41 which are approximately three-quarter circular holes cut through the brackets or of an angular extent of at least 180. The shafts are forced in and out of these unfinished circular holes as will clearly be seen from inspection of FIG. 5.

It may be necessary, at times, to remove element 19 from the receptacle. This may be obtained by screwing shafts 23 onto disks 21, for instance.

In order to avoid accidental removal of ashes, it is proposed that aperture 35 be completely closed in from the interior of ash receptacle 3 at all times except when the receiving element is being rotated. For this reason, it is better to have each disk 21 rotate in an arch 43 (see FIGS. 3 and which may be a forward portion of brackets 27 and which define part of aperture 35. For the same reason, it is also necessary that one only of the troughs 25 be facing aperture 35.

In order to obtain this latter effect, the container side walls 33 are provided near holes 31 with a small boss 45 adapted to register into one of three depressions 47 disposed on the face of actuating wheels 49 adjacent the said side wall 33. These Wheels 49 are fixed on stub shafts 23 for rotation therewith. Of course, the arrangement could be reversed by having the depression 47 on walls 33 and the boss 45 on wheels 49.

Each such depression 47 corresponds to a trough 25 and 25 in such a way that when the depression is in registry with the boss 45, the troughs are in one of the positions shown in FIGS. 6, 7 or 8, that is, with their top opening in registry with aperture 35. Figs. 9 and 10 show two positions of wheels '49 and depressions 47 in relation to boss 45. It will be appreciated that a certain extra effort is required to move the receiving element 19 from the position of FIG. 9, or locked position, to that of FIG. 10, or intermediate positon. In the latter position, wall 33 is pressed slightly inwardly.

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 show how ashes or butts can be discarded in the ash compartment or receptacle by simply turning receiving element 19.

It will be appreciated, of course, that the ash receptacle, could be made without package holder for use when the cigarette or cigar packages cannot be accommodated in the holder.

I claim:

An ash receptacle attachable to a cigarette package comprising a top wall, a bottom wall, two side walls and two end walls said top, bottom and side walls projecting in their respective planes outwardly beyond one of said end Walls and defining a housing for the close-fit reception of a cigarette package; an elongated aperture in said top wall; a receiving element consisting of two coaxial flat disks, an axial stub shaft projecting outwardly from each said disk through an adjacent side wall, means for rotating said receiving element into any one of three ash receiving positions beneath said aperture, locking means for holding said receiving element in any one of said three receiving positions V-shaped receiving troughs between the inwardly facing surfaces of said flat disks, the said troughs being defined by three radial partition walls extending radially about a common apex, said apex being parallel to but offset from the axis of rotation of the said receiving element, one trough having a depth exceeding that of the other two but presenting a mouth opening equal to that of the other two and to the opening in the top wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,651,177 Bowyer Nov. 29, 1927 1,840,664 Gerstheimer Jan. 12, 1932 2,349,488 Dement May 23, 1944 2,487,131 Harris Nov. 8, 1949 2,661,747 Manion Dec. 8, 1953 2,827,906 Manion Mar. 25, 1958 2,891,558 Machon June 23, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,004,076 France Nov. 21, 1951 

